Yasir Arafat

News about Yasir Arafat, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Dec. 27, 2013

Russian investigation into death of former Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat concludes that his death was not caused by radiation; finding comes after French inquiry found traces of radioactive isotope of polonium and Swiss investigation said time frame of Arafat’s illness and death was consistent with that of polonium poisoning. MORE

Dec. 4, 2013

French investigators studying the remains of Yasir Arafat conclude that the Palestinian leader most likely did not die of radiation poisoning. MORE

Nov. 9, 2013

Abdullah Bashir, Palestinian official in charge of investigating 2004 death of Yasir Arafat, renews his accusation that Israel had poisoned Arafat with radioactive polonium-210, despite lack of sufficient evidence. MORE

Nov. 7, 2013

Swiss scientists post forensics report that lends support to theory that Yasir Arafat, symbol of Palestinian national struggle, died of poisoning with radioactive polonium-210; findings, which take into account analytical limitations, come after nine years of mystery and intrigue surrounding Arafat's death. MORE

Oct. 16, 2013

Vladimir Uiba, head of Russia's forensics agency, says that samples from body of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat revealed no traces of radioactive polonium; findings, if confirmed, would deal blow to Palestinian suspicions that Arafat was assassinated by Israel. MORE

Nov. 28, 2012

Nov. 14, 2012

Palestinian authorities are preparing to exhume body of Yasir Arafat four months after television investigation raised new suspicions that he was poisoned. MORE

Oct. 31, 2012

French criminal investigators will exhume remains of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat to try to determine cause of death; push to re-examine Arafat's 2004 death is prompted by Swiss lab's discovery of traces of polonium 210, deadly radioactive isotope, on clothes said to be his. MORE

Aug. 29, 2012

French court will open a homicide investigation into the 2004 death of the former Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat; Arafat's widow, Suha, had petitioned for an investigation after a Swiss laboratory suggested that he may have been exposed to the radioactive isotope polonium 210. MORE

Aug. 1, 2012

Suhu Arafat, widow of the former Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, petitions French authorities to investigate his death in 2004 as a homicide; request comes after a Swiss laboratory found that Arafat may have been poisoned with polonium 210, a rare radioactive isotope. MORE

Jul. 5, 2012

Suha Arafat, Yasir Arafat's widow, calls for the exhumation of her husband's body, after Al Jazeera, the Arabic television channel, reported that he might have been poisoned with polonium, a radioactive element associated with KGB-style assassination intrigues; the report in Al Jazeera rekindles unresolved questions about the death and theories that Arafat had been killed by agents of Israel or by Palestinian rivals. MORE

Jul. 4, 2012

Suha Arafat, widow of Yasir Arafat, will seek permission to exhume his remains for an inquest following a report by Al Jazeera that he may have been poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope; Arafat, the father figure of Palestinian nationalism, died mysteriously in 2004. MORE

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November 7, 2013, Thursday

Exhuming the remains of the notable dead has become increasingly common in Latin American countries. Brazil, the latest, plans to exhume a former civilian president to investigate assassination claims.